Get Involved
Like the sound of The Great Horses for Health Event? Whether you are a horse owner or not, there are lots of ways you can get involved and be part of this special event. Read on to find out how...
2023 event information coming soon!
How to get involved if you have access to a horse
There are so many different ways you can take part in the Horses for Health event no matter what level you ride at. In fact, you don’t even need to ride to take part – we have opportunities for carriage drivers, long-reiners or those that just want to take their equine friend out on foot.
Why not try something you haven’t done before such as Versatile TREC? Or push yourself to do a longer distance ride? You could even make a weekend of it and explore a new area with one of our ‘ride and stay’ events, or just join in with an organised ride and make new friends. Don’t worry if you have an older horse or just don’t like to go too fast, we have a number of ‘walk and talk’ events this year to enable you to enjoy your horse while chatting with like-minded people. Whatever you fancy doing, our events page explains all the different types of events we are running this year.
If you don’t want to take part in any of our organised events, or perhaps don’t have transport to travel out of your area, you can just do your own thing or organise something with people near to you. All we ask is that you take some time for yourself to enjoy your equine friend and appreciate how they can have a positive impact on your mental health.
How to get involved if you don’t ride or have access to a horse
The Horses for Health event 2022 is not just for horse-riders or horse owners. There are numerous ways you can be part of it. In our 2021 event we had people walking, cycling, long-reining, carriage driving and walking ponies in-hand but this year we’re going even further to enable non-riders to join in.
We have a number of wellness events this year such as stretch and relax classes in the great outdoors where you get to appreciate the fresh air and the sounds of nature while taking a little time out to stretch your muscles and practice some mindfulness. We also have some wellness walks and family fun days or you could come along and watch one of our organised events. We even have a triathlon event this year to enable runners, cyclists and carriage drivers to join in on a relay with horsey friends.
If you don't want to take part yourself then you could always volunteer at an event, help organise an event or offer a venue for an event. Read on to find out more...
Could you help by volunteering?
The Great Horses for Health Event couldn’t run without our amazing supportive network of volunteers. We have lots of volunteering opportunities to enable people from all over the UK to get involved which is another great way to support the event even if you don’t own or have access to a horse.
You don’t have to sign up to endless hours of your time, there are lots of ways to help from stewarding a road crossing to help keep our riders safe, offering a place for horseboxes to park safely for one of our ‘park and ride’ events, or perhaps you have a B&B or field you could lend for a ‘ride and stay’ event?
Maybe you have some great riding routes you know in your area and a place to park or don’t mind approaching a local venue to organise a guided ride or other type of event? We need co-ordinators and volunteers all around the country so we would love to hear from you. Just drop us an email on info@horses4health.co.uk or join our Facebook group ‘The Great Horses for Health Event’
And don’t forget to donate!
Last but not least, one of the main reasons for the Great Horses for Health Event is to raise money for some fantastic charities whose work to rescue and rehabilitate our equine friends in addition to helping the mental and physical wellbeing of humans relies upon donations from the public.
So whether you are a horse lover or not, another way you can get involved is to donate towards these amazing charities. Any donation no matter how big or small is hugely appreciated by the causes we are supporting.
The easiest way to donate is to use our text donation number. You can give £5 by texting the word HEALTH to 70460. If you want to donate an alternative amount, text HEALTH10 to donate £10, HEALTH20 to donate £20 etc*. You can also donate to the JustGiving campaign at www.justgiving.com/campaign/horses4health
In addition, our participants also have the option to set up their own Facebook Fundraiser or JustGiving page to share with their friends and family.
There are some lovely Horses4Health medals, trophies and T-shirts up for grabs for those that reach various fundraising targets and a special prize for the participant who raises the most money.
To find out more about the causes we are supporting, visit our Charities page.